Denise (Dionysia, Dionisia), Dativa, Leontia, Tertius, Emilianus, Boniface, Majoricus, and Servus are venerated as martyrs by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. They were killed in the late 5th century during the persecution of

Trinitarian The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Proconsular Africa Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...

by the

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

, according to

Victor of Vita Victor Vitensis (or Victor of Vita; born circa 430) was an African bishop of the Province of Byzacena (called Vitensis from his See of Vita). His importance rests on his ''Historia persecutionis Africanae Provinciae, temporibus Genserici et Huniri ...

. These martyrs were killed during the reign of Arian king

Hunneric Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was King of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was m ...

. According to Victor, Denise was a beautiful and widowed noblewoman, who was killed during this persecution. Denise's son Majoricus was killed during the same persecution, as well as Denise's sister Dativa. Denise was brutally whipped by the authorities. and then died at the stake with her little child, Majoricus, and her sister Dativa. Also killed were Leontia, daughter of Bishop Germanus of Perada (Paradana); a doctor named Emilius or Emelius ("Emilianus" according to

Usuard Usuard (died 23 January, 875) was a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and a Carolingian scholar. His name appears in a list of monks of Saint-Germain-des-Prés written around 841/847 (a declaration of spiritual association wi ...

), brother-in-law of Dativa; Tertius, a monk of

Byzacena Byzacena (or Byzacium) ( grc, Βυζάκιον, ''Byzakion'') was a Late Roman province in the central part of Roman North Africa, which is now roughly Tunisia, split off from Africa Proconsularis. History At the end of the 3rd century AD, the ...

; and Boniface, surnamed Sibidense, who has been identified as Boniface, bishop of Sicilibba in Proconsular Africa. Emilius and Tertius were flayed alive. Two other figures associated with the same persecution were venerated on the same

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

: Servus or Servius, who was martyred at Tuburbium; and Victoria or Victrix, who was tortured at Cucusa (Colusitana, Culcitana). Servus was hung and dropped from ropes and then dragged through the streets, while Victoria was hung from the wrists above a fire. Victoria's husband begged her to abjure her faith and to think of her young children but she refused. Thinking her dead, the authorities left her on the ground. According to the legend, Victoria later recovered and stated that she had been miraculously cured by a young maiden.

Veneration

Their cult was mentioned in the martyrologies of various ancient churches and in the martyrologies associated with Ado, Florus, and Usuard. The ''Legendarium'' associated with the convent of the canons regular at Böddeken records their legend in a

codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

dating from the 15th century (Biblioteca Teodoriana,

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

). The ''Roman Martyrology'' commemorates their feast day on December 6, although Servius’ name is recorded on December 7, and Victoria's name is completely left out. There was a cult in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

devoted only to Emilianus, which was popular especially in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, and at the end of the 14th century, he was chosen as the

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

for a local society of pharmacists along with

Peregrine of Auxerre Peregrine (Peregrinus) of Auxerre (french: Saint Pèlerin, it, San Pellegrino) (d. ca. 261 AD or ca. 304 AD) is venerated as the first bishop of Auxerre and the builder of its first cathedral. A strong local tradition states that he was a pries ...

. A church was built in Emilianus’ honor at Naples.

References

External links

Santi Dionisia, Dativa, Leonzia, Terzo, Emiliano, Bonifacio, Maiorico e Servo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denise, Dativa, Leontia, Tertius, Emilianus, Boniface, Majoricus, and Servus 484 deaths 5th-century executions 5th-century Christian martyrs 5th-century Christian saints Catholic martyrs Deaths by beating Martyred groups Saints from the Vandal Kingdom Year of birth unknown Lists of Christian martyrs